Boxing

[danthepoetman]

Anyone saw the Ganady Golovkin-Matthew Macklin fight? Golovkin literally dismantled Macklin, a guy who gave the linear, "real" middleweight champion of the world, Sergio Martinez, a lot of trouble for 11 rounds, and who probably beat Felix Sturm despite not being given the decision. 14th ko in a row for Golovkin, 8th for a belt! Is Golovkin the most dominant middleweight in the world right now? Who would win a Martinez-Golovkin fight? Is Golovkin the next great middleweight champion to come, like Hopkins was, Hagler before, Monzon before? Will we see a 6 or 7 year reign?
Any comments?

What about the upcomming Floyd Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez fight? Some comments on this one?

[danthepoetman]

Boxing nowadays... I can hear the wind...
http://www.oldthinkernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/desert-rain.jpg

[broncofan]

I just watched Golovkin fight (on youtube) after reading your post. I haven't followed boxing closely in more than five years. He's an incredibly accurate puncher. Yes, he hits hard, but his shots land so cleanly that fighters don't know what to do. He has good head movement as well and slips punches as he cuts off the ring. His left hook is similar to what you see from a lot of eastern European fighters where he doesn't fully commit to it all the time but when he does it's tremendously powerful.

He'll be a very hard guy to beat.

[danthepoetman]

Thanks for your answer, Broncofan. In all probability, we'll be the only two to talk about this.
Yes, Golovkin was impressive. And the most surprising aspect of it, is that Macklin is no chump. He's proven a difficult opponent at the top of the division.
You're right in your analysis, and I would ask one more thing to it: rarely do you see a fighter with such short powerful punches. He sometimes throws from 12 to 18 inches from target with devastating results. I haven't been impressed this much in a long time with a fighter.
I feel very priviledged to have seen in my time 3 of the greatest reigns in middleweight history. Carlos Monzon, first, in the 70's; Marvin Hagler, from 79, I think, to 87; and Bernard Hopkins, for almost a decade too, more recently. I hope we see the peaking of another great one in Golovkin!

[broncofan]

I've seen about five or six fights of his now. He is definitely for real. In his fight with Gabe Rosado he landed over 2 and a half times as many punches as Rosado, which combined with his greater punching power spelled doom. I also saw his fight with Proksa, where he beat a slick southpaw after dropping him four or so times.

My only concern is the Kassim Ouma fight. I saw it and though I know that Gennady had some issues before the fight I think there's a stylistic concern as well. Ouma has a rock solid chin and he is a volume puncher. That combination has made him tough for a lot of fighters. Ouma was throwing pitty-pat punches and Golovkin was having trouble getting set to throw his shots because Ouma was upsetting his rhythm. It sort of reminded me of the difficulties Kostya Tszyu had in getting a rhythm against the relatively soft-punching Oktay Urkal. When an opponent doesn't put much power into his punches, and you tend to throw for accuracy, it makes it tough to get going.

The only good thing about that is that Ouma has a fairly unique style (btw I am aware that he destroyed Ouma by the end of the fight). Golovkin is good at tracking down movers, and good at out-landing punchers...but that volume punching style seemed to give him a bit of trouble. Fortunately, from what I've seen that is not how Sergio Martinez fights. He is more of a fleet-footed southpaw boxer with fast hands.

[danthepoetman]

I have missed the Golovkin-Ouma fight. Ouma, although not quite in the absolute top echelon, is still an outstanding fighter; you're right, he has a great chin and is absolutely relentless. That's one of the main quality of a great champion: to be able to adapt to any style. Rare are the fighters who get to be able to fight all comers at a given weight; they almost all eventually succumb to one style or another. And punchers like Golovkin often tend to rely a little too much on power and at some point, stop progressing. But Golovkin seems like the real thing. And Martinez has said yesterday or the day before, in an interview, that he was ready to fight him (Dan Rafael's blog, I think, reported it). This should make one of the best middleweight confrontation in a long time. Martinez-Paul Williams was a real good match-up, Jermaine Taylor-Kelly Pavlik before too, Hopkins-Taylor, but I don't think we had such a good one since Hopkins-Trinidad, almost 15 years ago.
Nice review on Golovkin, Broncofan!
http://www.livefight.com/images/pages/1359752656gennady-golovkin.jpg
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[danthepoetman]

This, fresh out from ESPN:
On Monday, former heavyweight titlist David Haye posted a video on Instagram in which he signed a piece of paper -- purportedly a contract to fight fellow brash British contender Tyson Fury -- and said, "We've re-jigged the contract so he's nice and happy. All done."
The 32-year-old Haye (26-2, 24 KOs) will be at a vast size disadvantage. The former cruiserweight champion is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, although he is very heavy-handed. Fury (21-0, 15 KOs), 25, is 6-9 and 254 pounds, although not known as that big of a hitter.
Haye won a version of the heavyweight title in 2009 by outpointing 7-footer Nikolai Valuev in Germany and went on to make two defenses, against former titleholder John Ruiz and countryman Audley Harrison. But then Haye faced champion Wladimir Klitschko in a July 2011 unification fight and was routed in an uncompetitive decision loss, which Haye blamed on an injured pinkie toe.
Haye has fought just once since the Klitschko fight, a fifth-round knockout of British countryman Dereck Chisora last July.
Fury, who won a decision against former world title challenger Chisora in 2011, made his American debut in his last fight. He stopped Philadelphia's Steve Cunningham, a former cruiserweight titlist, in the seventh round in New York on April 20, although Cunningham dropped Fury in the second round and nearly knocked him out.
http://bostonherald.com/sites/default/files/media/2013/04/05/07fury.jpg
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http://scm-l3.technorati.com/11/10/18/54051/spt-ai-valuev-haye-07SMALL.jpg?t=20111018021214
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01518/david-haye-valuev_1518774c.jpg
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00924/David_Haye_lands_a__924631a.jpg
http://edgraytothepoint.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/david-haye-2012_2795663.jpg


Piece of advice from the Poetman: don't be fooled by the size of Fury. Bet on Haye for this one! It should be relatively easy money, especially if some are fooled and odds turn to be in Fury's favour...

[dderek123]

Speaking of Tyson Fury ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8VlkRxcIYA

[danthepoetman]

That's a great one, Derek! He practically knocked himself out with an uppercut!

That's pretty much the idea I have of the guy: very clumsy. He's a flat footed, slow pludder with huge size and heavy, although not powerful punches. Probably very strong too, obviously. But Haye, despite his size, probably punches harder; he's also much faster, can move around the ring for 12 rounds easily, and is great at taking angles on his opponents. My hunch is, Haye will be able to get in and out without being touched too much by the bigger guy. Fury will hunt and pursue, but only to be tagged over and over again.

Fury's team are putting him too fast against a fighter that is too good. Fury is only 23 or 24: he has a lot of time to still learn. But a humiliating defeat could break his carreer. I think they're compromising him too fast...

[dderek123]

That's a great one, Derek! He practically knocked himself out with an uppercut!

That's pretty much the idea I have of the guy: very clumsy. He's a flat footed, slow pludder with huge size and heavy, although not powerful punches. Probably very strong too, obviously. But Haye, despite his size, probably punches harder; he's also much faster, can move around the ring for 12 rounds easily, and is great at taking angles on his opponents. My hunch is, Haye will be able to get in and out without being touched too much by the bigger guy. Fury will hunt and pursue, but only to be tagged over and over again.

Fury's team are putting him too fast against a fighter that is too good. Fury is only 23 or 24: he has a lot of time to still learn. But a humiliating defeat could break his carreer. I think they're compromising him too fast...

Yeah I agree with you about Fury being pushed too quickly. Maybe his coaches and manager don't have much confidence in him. He should probably change up his management and camp then.

Dan what do you think of the Cotto training with Freddie Roach? I think it's a great move for him. I found he relied on his chin and heart a bit too much. Polishing up his fundamentals and gameplanning around his new abilities could turn him into a real scary fighter.

[Enthusiast]

I only saw Fury fight once and I wasn't impressed at all. However, Haye has disappointed almost every time I've seen him. Of course, rose were against some pretty tough title match opponents.

I saw the Golovkin fight, too. What a performance.

[broncofan]

Dan,
next time I see you around we can discuss Bradley-Marquez, Provodnikov-Alvarado, or Golovkin-Stevens;. But I'll wait until I see you posting again to discuss as I watched all three fights.

[danthepoetman]

Dan what do you think of the Cotto training with Freddie Roach? I think it's a great move for him. I found he relied on his chin and heart a bit too much. Polishing up his fundamentals and gameplanning around his new abilities could turn him into a real scary fighter.

As opposed to what was repeated over and over again, I think Cotto still has a few years left ahead of himself to provide us with great fights. For instance, at this stage of Sergio Martinez' carreer, "THE" real middleweight champion of the world, I think Cotto would beat him! Martinez has shown to have lost a notch or two and the next very good middleweight to face him will probably take the "linear" title.
Indeed, Cotto needed to change something to reshake his carreer. Roach is just a great great trainer whom, instead of trying to change fighter, improves on what they do best. Think of Pacquiao's two fisted attacks after getting with Roach.
I think in the end, the loss to Margarito was what really shook Cotto's carreer. Obviously, it should never have happened. Margarito cheated with his handwrap and, although he definitely is a very tough guy, he never would have got several of his victories without that, it seems to me, now that we know the truth. The defeat Cotto suffered in this circumstances nearly ruined him, both mentally and physically. Thank God for an attentive member of Shane Mosley's team for having noticed the manouvre.

[danthepoetman]

I only saw Fury fight once and I wasn't impressed at all. However, Haye has disappointed almost every time I've seen him. Of course, rose were against some pretty tough title match opponents.

I wonder what's with these constant postponements by the Haye camp on this one. I'm starting to suspect that Haye has some doubts about this one. It's almost changing my mind. In my book, Haye should easily move around the big, flat footed guy to score easy points if not to batter him. But I must admit Fury is huge. Is Haye worried of being cornered? That's a bit weird...

[danthepoetman]

Dan,
next time I see you around we can discuss Bradley-Marquez, Provodnikov-Alvarado, or Golovkin-Stevens;. But I'll wait until I see you posting again to discuss as I watched all three fights.

Wow! what a bunch of fun ones!
The first one, I've said it for a long time and events are confirming it: Bradley is still underrated, maybe the most underrated active fighter! No doubt he hedged Marquez in a very good fight. People keep focussing on the suspisciousness of the Pacquiao fight, but Pacquiao was then the very best p4p in the world! If a guy can create a situation in which the decision is uncertain, it has to be because he's very, very good! it has to be because this guy is matching him up! Now people have generally elected to blame him for what they saw as a "bad decision" and take away from him the credit he deserves. That's ridiculous.
Yet, everytime he's in the ring, Bradley proves that he belongs there. He's fighting every one they put in front of him. No gimme, no softy and no gift to this ordinary, familly guy, who's obviously never been favoured by his mannegerial team.
Just stop to think about this: even still relatively unproven, they put him in front of, successively, other belt holder Kendal Holt, at this point only defeated twice; undefeated Lamont Peterson, who came on to beat Amir Khan two years later; a 29-0 with 25 ko's Luis Carlos Abregu; a 21-0 Devon Alexander, viewed by the press as a boxing phenomenon, soon destined to greatness (and I remember how Alexander was seen as the potential hero of this fight, as usual, not Bradley); old, tough, great, definite future Hall of Famer Joel Casamayor, whom he kayoed; the best p4p in the world, Manny Pacquiao; the next ring animal, most exciting fighter in the world, Ruslan Provodnikov (anyone who put you in the ring with that beast is not your friend); and finally the great, great Juan Manuel Marquez! Bradley came through without being really defeated. And yet, people keeps on questionning him!! Forget it! Bradley is already among the active great fighters out there. Someone with so much character and temperament in front of adversity might end up like Bernard Hopkins, becoming one of the greatest of all time against all odds. Who knows!
Btw, who's NOT fighting Bradley? An intelligent guy who doesn't seem to want ANY part of him, despite being bigger: the best p4p in the world by default (after Pacquiao's debacle), Floyd Mayweather jr...

Was Alvarado-Provodnikov thrilling enough? It's almost a shame that Provodnikov and Bradley are in the same division. Provodnikov might not be absolute greatness material. But he's one of the next big thing, if not huge, in boxing. He's rapidly becoming the most exciting fighter in the sport, like Arturo Gatti was. But unlike Gatti, Provodnikov can definitely compete with the very very best of them all, out there. This guy is as tough as nail. Would he punch a little harder, he would be a new Aaron Pryor, a dynamite machine. I never want to miss one of this guy's fights...

Sergio Martinez is the linear middleweight champion of the world. He's the man who beat the man in the weight class. Whomever wants to be recognized as the champion, outside those ridiculous alphabet soup organizations, needs to beat him. But the guy has lost a notch or two in the last couple of years. He's not young. Martinez is already 38 years old. FIghters can push the limits today, obviously, but I'm sure Martinez is now there for the taking: any very good middleweight who fights him at this stage will beat him. Now the deserving one is definitely the "uncrowned" (outside the bogus organizations) champion, Genady Golovkin. He should be the one to get the next opportunity at Martinez. No one else. He proved it once again in his fight with very dangerous Curtis Stevens. Stevens was no joke: one of the hardest punchers under 160 pounds limit. I wouldn't say it was easy for GGG, but he didn't have to give a humongous effort either to get the ko...
I feel I've bee greatly priviledge as a boxing fan, to have witnessed the reign of 3 of the greatests middleweight champions ever. When I was a teenager, the amazing Carlos Monzon took the title. His reign lasted through the whole 70's and ended up with the firework of his victories against great Rodrigo Valdez. With only a couple of years interval, the great Marvin Hagler started a magnificent reign which ended by a little bit of a tricky defeat, although legitimate, against great Sugar Ray Leonard. He reigned all through the 80's. Then after a difficult start, Bernard Hopkins imposed himself as the great middleweight champion he was in the late 90's beggining of the 21st century. In my opinion, if his mannagement is proper, we could also witness the long reign of Genady Golovkin. He has what it takes, in my opinion. Will he have the proper support? That's the question to me...

[broncofan]

I thought Bradley beat both Marquez and Provodnikov. He is without doubt a very tough fighter to beat. I saw Pac-Rios and thought that Manny looked pretty good, but a shade slower than he did at his best.

Golovkin is coming along nicely. His win over Stevens was very impressive because Stevens was very determined and in the end outlanded almost 3-1.

I did not see Darchinyan-Donaire but was surprised to read that Vic put up a very good fight and was doing well before getting knocked out. I wonder whether his sportsmanship after the fight was better than it was the first time he got knocked out.

[broncofan]

And when Stevens hit him with good left hooks he took the shots very well. When I watch most fighters, with the exception of Floyd Mayweather they do not have the numerical advantage over their opponents that Golovkin does against tough fighters. So, while a lot of people on message boards who think they know the sport (;)) say he is one-dimensional or only a power-puncher, they are missing the subtle things he does. He is better at slipping punches than he gets credit for and lands tremendous volume with very good accuracy.

His body punches are extremely hard, his jab is thudding, his right hand comes around his opponent's guard, and his left hook is powerful, the knockdown of Stevens being prime evidence of that.

As for Bradley, he is just such a great competitor. Great heart, tenacity, endurance, and underrated boxing skills. He was out-jabbing Marquez in their fight and the normally very adept Marquez was having a lot of trouble getting any sense of his rhythm.

[danthepoetman]

We will only know just how good Golovkin is when he gets to be really tested, which he hasn't so far. He's indeed taken some good shots without showing signs of being hurt. But no one yet has really challenged him. Which I guess is a lot to say about him. This guy might become one of the greatest middleweights ever.

As to Bradley, people area going to have to recognize his talent eventually. Frankly, I'd love to see him fight Mayweather. He'd be a much better opponent than Alvarez has been.

[danthepoetman]

You want to see great heavyweight action, the kind we haven't seen in a couple decades in the division? Watch this one, Joe Frazier-Jerry Quarry, Heavyweight Championship of the World, June 1969.
Joe Frazier vs Jerry Quarry I - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXJjzuacmBQ)

[danthepoetman]

In the featherweight division, a magician who could have become one of the greatest of all time, without his untimely death in a motorcycle accident, at only 23. Salvador Sanchez.
Here against the fighter who was considered the best p4p of his time, Wilfredo Gomez.
Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCEVtFcIg2Q)

[Jeremy1980]

Anyone here excited about Mayweather/ Khan? Don't know how Khan's going to make the weight though.

KHAAAAAAN! - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRnSnfiUI54)